The development of Local Healthwatch in Kent Part one: key findings

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Executive summary This report describes a structured series of interviews, focus groups and workshops in preparation for the development work to design Kent Local Healthwatch (K LHW). Researched and written by the Centre for Public Scrutiny, it provides an independent assessment of the readiness of statutory and community stakeholders from across Kent to co-produce an effective local Healthwatch organisation. At the heart of the report is a description of the participatory workshop that was held at the end of the process that brought together over 40 stakeholders from across Kent and from across a range of organisations and roles. Titled ‘Every Decision About Me, With Me’ the workshop introduced an appreciative inquiry approach to the key questions of what a local Healthwatch organisation should do and how it should be organised to achieve this. A series of key messages based on areas of consensus amongst participants are presented, including: • Acknowledging the strong interest and enthusiasm for K LHW across Kent and the desire for it to be a successful and strong champion for local people • Highlighting that all parties believe that an informed and independent organisation will be a powerful driver for effective commissioning and the provision of quality services • Building on the learning and experience from LINks • Recognising that the local aspirations for K LHW and the new roles it will play mean that different organisational forms and processes will need to be considered • Identifying the new skills and competencies staff and volunteers will need to make K LHW effective • Placing a commitment to engaging and involving diverse and seldom heard groups from across Kent at the centre of how K LHW is developed and how it works at a practical level • Developing public and stakeholder credibility for K LHW by developing clear roles and support for staff and volunteers • Taking a whole system approach to the success of local K LHW and recognising the role that all partner organisations including commissioners and decision makers will play in this • Ensuring that K LHW pays significant attention to social care and the integration of services in Kent as well as to healthcare • The importance of co-producing K LHW in a way that demonstrates and models best practice that will be taken forward by the organisation 4 The development of Local Healthwatch in Kent: assessing readiness for Local Healthwatch
A range of suggestions and practical proposals have been collected about the essential local elements for an effective K LHW: • Ways to work across the scope and diversity of the county • Tools and creative approaches for working with different stakeholder groups • Possible organisational models and governance approaches • Examples of the competencies, skills and knowledge that staff and volunteers in K LHW are going to need and ways to support this by harnessing existing training programmes in Kent • Insights from seldom heard groups and ways to overcome exclusion • Building on what is already working well in Kent in terms of engagement activities across health, social care and the community and voluntary sector • Approaches to communication • Methods of collecting and aligning data and information about public views with the work and timelines of commissioners and decision makers • Aligning K LHW with health and social care structures to maximise influence • Advice on how K LHW can form effective working relationships with statutory bodies such as the Health and Wellbeing Board, Overview and Scrutiny Committees and Clinical Commissioning Groups • Identifying potential barriers and challenges and the strategies for overcoming them The report is divided into two parts. Part one ( this document) describes the aims and methods used by the assessment and then offers a summary of the key findings from the workshops, focus groups and interviews. Recommendations are then provided to guide further development work based on a consensus of views about what needs to happen next. Part two compiles the data from the contributions of all the participants and provides more detailed information about their thoughts, opinions and perspectives. Contributions are honest and direct but were always offered with the commitment to promote a collaborative approach to K LHW in Kent based on reflection, learning and insight. Kent is well placed to begin the transition to K LHW and has strong commitment from a wide variety of stakeholders to ensure the process is successful. The participation that has been achieved by the statement of readiness assessment provides the foundations to maintain close relationships during the co-production phase and continue the practical work of turning local peoples’ vision into reality. Part one: key findings 5
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